Employers have worries about working from home as a long-term strategy. There are certainly some matters needing consideration.
What are your employees doing?
You cannot “see” homeworkers who may be distracted by domestic demands, childcare or even Netflix.
Of course, diligent employees check in often, copy others in to emails, engage with their bosses, and show that they are contributing. But what of those that don’t?
ACAS says: “the Data Protection Act doesn’t prevent employers from monitoring workers, but employers should remember workers are entitled to some privacy at work. Employers must tell employees about any monitoring arrangements and the reason for it.”
This means agreeing with employees reasonable processes for keeping in touch with their activities such as accessing e-mail threads, website searches or telephone call records.
Covert monitoring is only permissible in specific investigative circumstances and any “blanket” monitoring will invariably fall foul of this requirement.
One option is timesheets. Modern technology allows simple tracking of time and, placed on a Smartphone App such as Toggl track, is not onerous.
Teamwork, creativity and innovation
These are fundamental reasons for gathering people together in the first place.
New employees and those who need mentoring are finding it harder to integrate into the workplace, to build relationships and understand their roles. Therefore induction programmes are more challenging. But at least you don’t need to tell the new employee where to find the loo!
Ideas are largely created (by brainstorming for example) and developed in the workplace. Bouncing ideas around aids their development. This can be done remotely but it risks losing the spontaneity that sparks creativity.
A recent survey of 145,000 workers worldwide found 28% of workers were unable to collaborate on creative work while at home.
Again, technology offers some solutions and possible benefits. There are digital whiteboards such as Miro which aid virtual brainstorming. Video conferencing often means more people can be involved in the creative process with only time zones as a boundary. Internet forums can tap into global knowledge.
Culture
A company ethos, engagement with organisational objectives and common culture are under threat from remote working.
But disseminating the thinking of the business owner is far easier via use of technology, potentially cutting “layers” responsible for communicating that thinking down the line. Remember how Donald Trump used Twitter to by-pass news agencies to get his message across (until he was banned!)
Enterprise networking platforms, such as Yammer, provide opportunity for building a company culture online.
Stress
Solitary confinement as a punishment, has long been a penalty of last resort. It is not surprising therefore that mental health is proving a major concern during lockdowns world wide.
Office banter, humour and other stress relievers are not present in home-working. We may also need to give consideration to maintaining morale, including our own.
Communicating is crucial. Employees should not be left in isolation.
“Online coffee breaks” are an option for bringing staff together in a less formal way. Creative ways that have been used include quizzes, competitions and celebrating birthdays.
There are numerous organisations that provide support for mental health either by phone lines or online. The confidentiality, that online support can provide, may be a bonus.
Practical considerations
In the rush to work from home many of the considerations in the workplace may have been overlooked, for example:
- The home environment, pets, babies, other interruptions: is it conducive to working?
- The working furniture: is a dining chair and table suitable?
- Privacy: will data, especially special category data, be safe from prying eyes?
- Display screen equipment: e.g. is the screen at the right height (level with the eyes)?
- Safety considerations: e.g. is there a trailing cable to the laptop?
- Access to the property: do I have the right to enter the property to check these matters?
Employer Solutions offer home working policies and clauses for inclusion in contracts, contact us for more details.
Malcolm Martin FCIPD
Author Human Resource Practice
Blogs are for general guidance and are not an authoritative statement of the law.